Androgyny： The Only Way to Infinity in Lawrence’s The Rainbow

【Abstract】The Rainbow is one of the most influential novels of Lawrence， which did not get its reputation until the 1950s when F. R. Leavis published his work D. H. Lawrence. Novelist. When androgyny is mentioned， Lawrences dismiss of the concept of a third sex is always criticized. However， in his earlier book The Rainbow， he shows great interest in it. It is no exaggeration to say that he even thinks the only way to infinity is androgyny and he himself is an androgyny.By analyzing how Ursula reaches infinity in the theory of androgyny， the thesis aims to illustrate that in Lawrences early writing career， he believes that androgyny is the only way to infinity， which in turn reinforces his androgynous mind and displays his androgynous sensibility.

【Key words】The Rainbow； Lawrence； androgyny； infinity

Introduction

Born in 1885， D. H. Lawrence was an English novelist， poet， playwright， essayist， literary critic and painter. His most important works include Sons and Lovers， The Rainbow， Women in Love and Lady Chatterleys Lover. He was a writer who constantly struggled to find and to articulate the experience， not of a body or mind or spirit， but of the whole person. This was what he wrote about most tellingly， and what he himself insisted on remaining， to the end of his life. The Rainbow was written in 1915. It tells the story of three generations of the Brangwen family， a dynasty of farmers and craftsmen who live in the east Midlands of England. The book spans a period of roughly 65 years from the 1840s to 1905， and shows how the love relationships of the Brangwens change against the backdrop of the increasing industrialization of Britain. The first central character， Tom Brangwen， is a farmer whose experience of the world does not stretch beyond these two counties；while the last， Ursula， his granddaughter， studies at University and becomes a teacher in the progressively urbanized， capitalist and industrial world that would become our modern experience.

When androgyny is mentioned， Lawrences dismiss of the concept of a third sex is always criticized. However， in his earlier book The Rainbow， he shows great interest in it. It is no exaggeration to say that he even thinks the only way to infinity is androgyny and he himself is an androgyny.

By demonstrating his idea of man and woman in “The Study of Thomas Hardy” and analyzing how Ursula reaches infinity in the theory of androgyny， the thesis aims to illustrate that in Lawrences early writing career， he thinks that androgyny is the only way to infinity， which in turn reinforces his androgynous mind and shows his androgynous sensibility.

I. Brief Introduction to Androgyny

Androgyny is the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics. “Two-in-one” is one of the most important concepts brought by D. H. Lawrence in his “The Study of Thomas Hardy”. which has the similar connotation to androgyny.

Androgyny first appeared in Aristophanes story as it is told in Platos Symposium. It is said that originally， there were three sexes， not two， and we were doubly formed， not individual：male and male， female and female， and male and female. Zeus split the spherical creatures in two as punishment for their arrogance， causing each to experience the loss of the other - a loss that we long to redeem through sexual union， as the once androgynous couple become the procreative heterosexual couple.

The most influential and mostly cited work about androgyny is Virginia Woolfs A Room of Ones Own. She thought that the writer should have an androgynous mind. She located androgyny first as a form of balanced coexistence， redolent of Jugs anima and animus：‘in each of us two powers preside， one female， one male；and in the mans brain the man predominates over the woman， and in the womans brain the woman predominates over the man. That develops into a model of cohabitation：‘The normal and comfortable state of being is that when the two live in the harmony together， spiritually co-operating and finally to a state of marriage.

II. Lawrences Intention and failure to Reconcile the Relationship between Man and Woman

Lawrence thinks that the most important relationship in the world is the one between man and woman. In the novel The Rainbow， he tries to deal with the relationship between man and woman， making them go to the infinity， however， they disappoint him in the end.

2.1 Tom and Lydia

The book starts with Tom Brangwen and his Polish wife Lydia. Tom Brangwen is an insidious farmer with robust body and energetic soul. He also keeps the close relationship with the soil. He lives in an age when the Eden is lost and the industrialism breaks into the farmer. Before 19， the only women he has contact with are his mother and his sister. They are the mirror of his future wife. At the age of 28， Lydia appears in his life. Her black clothing shows her tranquility and reason. Her illusory expression always makes her more mysterious. Her exotic disposition makes Tom hard to look through her heart. Their love is the most natural one. He knows that Lydia is the woman he wants to marry the first sight he sees her.

They are like two magnets attracting each other. They torture each other but in the meanwhile love each other to death.

But there is some obstacles between them. Toms love for Lydia is not just the love for a woman， but her exotic life. Her appearance gives more civilization from other countries， giving more energy to the village life. Also Lydia always behaves in dark muzzle and curiously insidious ways；she utters surety and confidence. She has satisfaction， even triumph. She always laughs at things. She has the totally different characteristics from those of Toms. Their marriage is the most natural one， in the meanwhile the gap between them is the widest one， in which she has her own life and he has his too， they are like two different parallels， living the life together but would never feel the others deepest hear.

2.2 Ann and Will

Anna is the daughter of Lydia and her ex-husband， but has a closer relationship with Tom， her stepfather. She meets Will when she is still a teenager. After that， they fall in love with each other. Ann and Will are not as independent as the first generation. Tom is a real man， owning all the masculine characteristics and Lydia is a real woman in the traditional sense. But Ann has the idea of self， she would never be subordinated to men. She tries to be the dominate of the family；while Will has more personality of a female. He is instinctive， dark inside， more like the night. Anna is more like the day. Their personality is of total difference， thats why they attract each so much. They go through a lot to get into the hall of marriage. Their marriage is another try Lawrence makes to reconcile the relationship between man and woman.

But it is not successful. Anna and Will fight with each other， trying to control each other， leading their relationship going to die. Their marriage ends up with sex coitus without spiritual connection. Their only concern in life is the next generation. Their try to go to the infinity is a failure.

III. Ursula as an Androgyny in The Rainbow

Lawrences description of the third generation reflects his very ideal of what a human being should be like. Ursula as an androgyny.

When Ursula is in high school， she falls in love with her teacher Mrs. Winifred. That is one most important feature that she is an androgyny. Another one is that masculinity and femininity works harmoniously on her.

Ursula shows great respect to religion， like her father. She would think about the relationship of giving money to the poor and the redemption of herself， the relationship between what God tells people to do and the reality. And in the end， she takes religion and rid it of its dogmas， its falsehoods. From religion to philosophy， she thinks a lot about human desire， about fear and love， about power and the truth and the criterion of truth. Ursula prefers night and darkness. Here it doesnt mean that she doesnt like daytime. She just hates light. She thinks that the lights， civic uniform was a trick played， the people as they moved or sat were only dummies exposed... The dark stream that contained them all.

At the same time， she works at a primary school as a teacher， achieving herself like most of the men. Her experience in the school gives her more masculinity. She doesnt even need Skrebensky， because he is a male， a pure male， pursuing what the world and society puts on him. He is a soldier， being strong. He protects people. He loves his nation. He is exactly what the world calls a man. But he is not what Ursula needs. What she needs is someone who understands her， who is also both feminine and masculine. Thats probably why she and Birkins get together. They understand each other.

In a word， Ursula is a combination of male and female， masculinity and femininity. She is the only one that reaches the infinity， as the novel suggests.

IV. Conclusion

By comparing Tom and Lydias marriage， Anna and Wills marriage， both of which are a failure to reach the infinity. Both the couple have only sexual love more than the spiritual. Most importantly， they are not typical androgyny. Ursula， on the other hand， gets to her infinity， which shows that in Lawrences early writing career， he believes that androgyny is the only way to infinity， which in turn reinforces his androgynous mind and shows his androgynous sensibility.

References：

[1]Butler，Judith，Gender Trouble：Feminism and the Subversion of Identity，London and New York：Routledge，1990.

[2]Hardy，Thomas，Tess of the dUrbervilles，London：Macmillan，1974.

[3]Hargreaves，Tracy，Androgyny in Modern Literature，New York：Palgrave Macmillan.

[4]Jung，Carl，‘Anima and Animus，in Aspects of the Feminine，trans.R.F.C.Hull.London and New York：Ark，1989， pp.77–100.

[5]Lawrence，D.H.，Fantasia of the Unconscious，New York：Thomas Selzer，1922.

[6]Lawrence D.H.，The Study of Thomas Hardy and Other Essays，ed.Bruce Steele，Cambridge：Cambridge University Press，1985.

[7]Lawrence D.H.，The Rainbow，London：Penguin，1995.

[8]Lawrence D.H.，Studies in Classic American Literature，ed.Ezra Greenspan，Lindeth Vasey and John Worthen，Cambridge： Cambridge University Press，2003.

[9]Leavis.F.R，D.H.Lawrence：Novelist，London：Chatto&Windus，1955.

[10]Stevenson，Warren，Romanticism and the Androgynous Sublime，London：Associated University Presses，1996.

[11]Stimpson，Catharine R.，‘The Androgyne and the Homosexual，in Where the Meanings Are，New York and London：Methuen，1988.

[12]Woolf，Virginia，A Room of Ones Own（1928），Harmondsworth：Penguin，1993.

[13]Worthen，John，D.H.Lawrence and the Idea of the Novel， London and Basingstoke：Macmillan，1979.

作者簡介：夏欣欣（1992.1.19-），女，汉族，山西忻州人，硕士研究生，山西工商学院，主要研究英美文学。